Track Bucket build

[thebearded1]

I finally was able to make some progress in the garage and was able to drive the car yesterday! I ended up going with California Custom Roadsters slick track style bracket part number 21704-ST. I had to cut a little off the bracket that sits on the top of the frame to get the desired height and angle i wanted but it worked out well. The bracket is great quality and shipped fast! I had to cut down the drag link I purchased and re-threaded it for the rod end but that went well. The new position of the steering box will allow more room for the exhaust which I will build a new setup soon but also it makes the drag link parallel with the front radius arm. It was a little tricky mounting the firewall steering shaft support bearing since the mounting holes for the bearing were narrower than the whole in the metal firewall. I made a metal plate that I bolted the support bearing too. Then I bolted that through the wood inner firewall and the metal exterior firewall. It was a frustrating process but I walked away when I needed to and was successful in the end. It was a great chance for me to put my welding practice to work. Now I just need to keep practicing welding the thinner materials so I can make my new exhaust. Will try to make another post with photos.

I was supposed to be drag racing again this Sunday but mother nature appears to have other plans of 90% strong thunderstorms and rain, womp womp. Will be headed to Maine next week for the Loring Timing Association's Maine Event helping some teams and driving some cars as long as everything goes right.

Up next for the car is to make a new alternator tension bracket or just make the new lower drivers side mount and tension bracket. Then i'm going to attempt to make some hood sides once I see where the exhaust is going to be. Also plan to make a cockpit cover and finish the driver seat but it's been more fun to drive and race it than to work on stuff hahaha

 

[thebearded1]

still need to cut off those bolts on the shaft support. That is where the previous owner had 2 L brackets screwed into the wood firewall as suppport

 

[thebearded1]

Haven't made any updates in a while. Have been busy racing and spectating so still having fun. In July I raced a lakester powered by a mostly stock pinto motor at the Loring Timing Association in Maine. It's land speed racing where you are timed at a mile and 1.5 mile. We race on an old retired air force base runway. I set a record in the class at 114 mph and had a blast!

Then I was out at Bonneville Speedweek in August helping a few teams. Rains hampered things and they were only able to run one course and it was only 3 miles so the one team didn't run. That car is another lakester but it has a 562 cui BBC naturally aspirated with no power adders. We need a 5 mile course as the record we are going after is 314 mph. It was still a lot of fun and I met a lot of great people from all over the world.

Then in the end of August it was back to Maine to help crew with 2 teams. One was Tom Pease's Chevomet which Marcia set a record in the fuel class at 180mph.

Tom built an awesome race car hauler out of a school bus as well.

I was also helping Marcia run an old belly tanker lakester that originally ran at Bonneville in 1964 and went 203 mph. It's powered by a 260 sbf and had a hilborn injection system in 1964. The lakester was restored by Tom Pease and his staff and was almost exactly how it was in 64 minus the injection system. Marcia set a record in the class at 138 mph!

 

[thebearded1]

as for my track bucket I sent the steering box to Clark's Corvair Parts to have it rebuilt and they did a great job. I knew I didn't have the tools to do the job right but had other tools I would have used and screwed it up haha. They even media blasted the box and it looks great. I ended up just painting it with satin clear. I bumped my tire pressures up in the front to 30 psi and was able to stop a bounce that was happening at 65 mph and was able to do 80 mph.

I cut and tack welded together a new exhaust from a u bend and a megaphone. Sorry no pics right now. My buddy is going to tig it to finish it up. I also added a small bosch tach to the column too so I can have more consistent launches at the drag strip. Been taking the car to work and will be taking it to South Mountain Raceway this Sunday for some drag action. Hopefully my dad will get some photos or videos so I can share them here. It's going to be a busy month: race this sunday, Mobtown Greaseball Show Sept 23 then another drag race at Eastside Speedway in VA Sept 30.

 

[fletcherson]

The bus... cool! How does it steer? With the weight cantilevered out over the rear end, it looks like it could be light on the steering. I’m sure the frame length factors in. That’s my tractoring logic, lol!

 

[thebearded1]

The bus... cool! How does it steer? With the weight cantilevered out over the rear end, it looks like it could be light on the steering. I’m sure the frame length factors in. That’s my tractoring logic, lol!

Bus steers great! Tom goes to Loring twice a year which is a 1000 mile round trip for him.

 

[thebearded1]

The bus... cool! How does it steer? With the weight cantilevered out over the rear end, it looks like it could be light on the steering. I’m sure the frame length factors in. That’s my tractoring logic, lol!

Also i'm sure the
Chevomet doesn't weigh much. It's a Busch series nascar chassis and motor with the chopped steel comet body on it.

 

[thebearded1]

Well since my last post most of those events I mentioned were canceled due to rain. Story of the year! I did get to run at Eastside Speedway and sadly i think it was the last race for that track. My dad didn't get any photos though. I was still having an issue with the car stalling when trying to launch so i'm going to recheck for vacuum leaks and do some more tuning on the carb and maybe increase the amount of squirt from the accelerator pump. I noticed when i was doing some test hits on an old return road at the track if i pulled the choke out just slightly it launched better. After getting home and checking the timing I noticed the timing chain has 5 degrees of movement because of slack so thats getting replaced this winter.

I ran the new front brake line that is a straight shot without all the loops and high spots the previous owner had in it. I just need to run the new rear line now. The cold weather has reduced motivation to work in the garage haha but I'm going to force myself to finish the brakes this weekend. Also on the list is to replace the output seal on the trans and the pinion seal on the rear.

I'm still looking for a set of used 15x5 wheels with 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern. I've found some on the HAMB and facebook but all too far away. If i don't find any at a swap meet in March I will likely just cave in and buy the ones off of Speedway.

I'm also on the look out for another stock 23-25 T windshield to modify or just the 23-25 windshield brackets made out of steel. The pair i have are cast and I'd like a steel set so I could modify the lean angle.

Hopefully getting back in the garage will get me motivated again to keep at it.

 

[thebearded1]

Well I'm back from winter hibernation haha. I have been making progress but wanted to post after things were wrapped up. Ran new brake lines with better routing and everything works great with no leaks like before. I took out the hydraulic brake light switch and added a pull switch to the brake pedal like you would find on the rear brake of an older motorcycle. I think I'm still going to try arching the shoes to my drums at some point.

I did find a set of front runner wheels and am in the process of cleaning them up so I can install the 5.60-15 tires.

I made a new mount for the alternator. It uses to be high and on the passenger side (red mark) now it's tucked in and low on the driver's side. Before you could see it sticking out past the grill.



Also replaced the timing chain because it had a lot of slop. Now I am going to readjust the valve lash and reset the timing of that it won't be jumping around.

I built a new exhaust to replace the temporary "dog leg" that was on there. Made it similar to what I saw on some track roadsters in a 50s issue of Hot Rod Magazine. Sounds a lot better with a deeper note. I am going to paint it with aluminum colored exhaust paint and cure it on the car. The metal clang you hear is the heat control valve on the stock manifold. It sends heat to the intake to help with warm ups and to prevent fuel condensing since the intake is hanging out in the open and not being warmed by the block. It has a thermostatic spring to reduce heat to the intake once it's at operating temp.

Also about to make a cockpit cover for the passenger side. It will use boat snaps along the edge of the body as well as being snapped to a metal and wood rib that runs from the dash to the rear body lip. That will be held in place by 2 cleats. I will likely treat the canvas with linseed oil to darken it up and give it some water resistance to make it easier to wash after dirt track events.

A 4 point roll bar is still in the plans that will be bolt in so I can remove it for the street.

Looking forward to the event season and will be back out at drag tracks and dirt tracks starting in April!

 

[thebearded1]

Finally made the cockpit cover. It was a lot of work but I love how it turned out. I ended up waxing it with half beeswax half paraffin wax and it helped to darken the fabric while making it waterproof. I made a shift boot out of the same material too. I also painted the exhaust and now she is loaded on the trailer to go do some drag racing in PA tomorrow.

 

[Jack Henderson]

Finally made the cockpit cover. It was a lot of work but I love how it turned out. I ended up waxing it with half beeswax half paraffin wax and it helped to darken the fabric while making it waterproof. I made a shift boot out of the same material too. I also painted the exhaust and now she is loaded on the trailer to go do some drag racing in PA tomorrow.
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Awesome!!!

 

[Spanky]

now she is loaded on the trailer to go do some drag racing in PA tomorrow.

Love your build and the post-war vibe. I really get a kick out of events like "The Race of Gentlemen" and nostalgia drags. Good for you for participating! Save us some pictures.

(PS - Tonneau cover looks great.)

 

[Spanky]

How did the racing go?

 

[thebearded1]

Race went well. I didn't try launching the car very hard because I just wanted to be consistent this time out. Out of a field of 24 cars I made it to the final 6 before I lost to a friend with a coupe that was slant six powered. he was .12 closer to his dial in so it was a very close race. My best time Sunday was a 10.18 @ 68 mph in the 1/8 mile. Not be best ever but the car did great. Going to work on adjusting the timing some more to see if I can leave at a higher RPM. I was only launching around 1000 RPM to avoid the stall issue that I had before but I think I fixed it. When I did some a test on the road this afternoon I tried going to about 1500-2000 RPM but the car starts pushing the front tires haha. Maybe I will adjust my rear brake balance for more braking in the rear as well.

It was a blast though getting to play cars with my friends though. I will try to post some videos and photos

 

[thebearded1]

 

[thebearded1]

 

[thebearded1]

 

[Spanky]

Very cool pics, TB1! I admire you for participating the way you do. As I've said before I love this kind of vintage racing. BTW, is this the track in Boiling Springs?

(PS - I could not view the video clips Said they were "private")

 

[Jack Henderson]

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Dig the pictures, brother!

 

[thebearded1]

Very cool pics, TB1! I admire you for participating the way you do. As I've said before I love this kind of vintage racing. BTW, is this the track in Boiling Springs?

(PS - I could not view the video clips Said they were "private")

Videos should be viewable now.

Yup this is South Mountain Raceway in Boiling Springs PA. It used to be Quarter Aces Dragway. It really is a lot of fun running at these events as it's very friendly and about getting people out having fun with their old junk. I still enjoy driving the car on the street as well. Took it to get some beer to bring home yesterday evening.